Eastern side of Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate became infamous in the Cold War, when it was the sad symbol for the division of Berlin and Germany: The Gate stood between East and West Germany, becoming part of the Berlin Wall. Commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm, the Brandenburg Gate was the grand entrance to the boulevard "Unter den Linden", which led to the palace of the Prussian monarchs.
There was some kind of Iraqi ceremony or display/memorial going on. We talked to a guy and he said every week there's some new group holding some kind of thing at the gate. Note the video cameraman at the left of the photo.
Here's a shot of JFK viewing the wall at the Brandenburg Gate in 1963 when he made his famous speech. Note the black drapes so East Berliners could not see Kennedy.
Shot of the wall sweeping around in front of the gate circa 1961
East Berlin was a happy place full of tourists. Note this beer car where people pedal while a driver steers and serves glasses of beer
Pedals for 12 people to propel the car. The cask held a keg of beer. Tap is behind the driver. We passed one of these which was not going very fast.
Weidendammer Bridge
This was the only bridge in Berlin not destroyed during WW2. ...More
Checkpoint Charlie one of the famous Berlin allied checkpoints during the cold War.
Note the Mc Donald's across the street.
Here's an original shot of Checkpoint Charlie from the sixties. This was a very serious place. Note the arrow upper right showing the window where I took the picture on the left.
We visited a museum that showcased the history of Checkpoint Charlie and documented many daring escapes. Here's a woman inside of an amplifier case. This scheme was successfully used in several escapes.
Now it is just a historical curiosity. Note the vibrant new buildings looking east.
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Here's two little girls posing with a ceremonial US Army guard. They appear to be wearing Soviet Army hats.
Kaiser Wilhelm Church
The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The present building, which consists of a church with an attached foyer and a separate belfry with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall.
The belfry and church were surrounded by scaffolding when we visited. There was work underway to reinforce the old church and to upgrade the modern belfry.
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The plan of the church is octagonal while the plan of the tower is hexagonal. The new buildings are constructed of concrete, steel and glass. The walls of the church are made of a concrete honeycomb containing 21,292 stained glass inlays. The predominant color is blue, with small areas of ruby red, emerald green and yellow. Note the guy right of center, he was playing some awesome guitar notes during our visit. Click here to hear a 30sec cut
Here's Jan fresh from buying a new "Fossil" purse.
Berlin Cathedral
Nice Benz Police Car
The Reichstag
The large glass dome at the very top of the Reichstag has a 360-degree view of the surrounding Berlin cityscape. The main hall of the parliament below can be seen from inside the dome, and natural light from above radiates down to the parliament floor. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight. ...More
Here's Jan enjoying the afternoon sun in front of the Reichstag.
It was opened in 1894 and housed the parliament until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a mysterious fire. After World War II, the building fell into disuse.
The ruined building was made safe against the elements and partially refurbished in the 1960s, but no attempt at full restoration was made until after German reunification on 3 October 1990, when it underwent a reconstruction.
After its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag.
Gathering of Berliners circa 1950
View tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
